HUD awards $35 million to promote housing independence

In order to help low-income residents earn housing independence, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced an award of $35 million.

This money will go to public housing authorities, public housing resident associations, Native American tribes and nonprofit organizations across the U.S. It will help these organizations hire or retain service coordinators who help residents find jobs, educational opportunities and help residents achieve economic and housing independence.

The funding is provided through HUD’s Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency – Service Coordinators Program. The service coordinators provide services such as connecting residents to job training and placement programs and computer and financial literacy services.

“It’s part of our mission to help connect public housing residents to better, higher paying jobs and critical…

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According to a survey by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), 83 percent of surveyed millennials said they are delaying their home-buying plans by a median of seven years in direct correlation to their student loan debt.
In today’s financial landscape—even with options such as loan consolidation, repayment restructuring and earnings-based, graduated payments—millennials are having difficulty paying bills, let alone freeing up their debt-to-income ratio and saving for a down payment.
On Wednesday, the Education Department announced it is looking to clarify what constitutes “undue hardship” to give student loan debtors a better chance at having their loans expunged, and opportunities for more borrowers to apply for bankruptcy if needed.
“The U.S. Department of Education seeks to ensure that the congressional mandate to except student loans from bankruptcy discharge except in cases of undue hardship is appropriately implemented while also ensuring that borrowers for whom repayment of their student loans would be an undue hardship are not inadvertently discouraged from filing an adversary proceeding in their bankruptcy case,” according to an Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education statement.
While bankruptcy does not eliminate the option of home-buying, it does delay the process, as most lenders will not grant mortgages unless a period of time has passed.
According to realtor.com®, most individuals who file for bankruptcy will have to wait at least two years before they are considered for a home loan; and lenders are more lenient with Chapter 11 and 13 bankruptcy filers.
As student loan debt is a widespread home-buying obstacle for the millennial generation (and may be passed along to future generations, as well), it is crucial that the problem be addressed within the real estate community.
Is the solution in more lending programs with lessened restrictions or increased eligibility for bankruptcy?
If that is the case, future generations will have even more difficulty managing their student loan debt repayment and saving for a down payment.
The Education Department is seeking public comments on which factors should be considered “undue hardship” in bankruptcy cases dealing with student loan debt.

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